The game starts off decently, and is a fun FPS, but as it gets along, the effects of the rushed development become more evident. The very end of the game is a confusing mess, with back tracking trying to figure out where you're supposed to go. The On Foot segments become tedious, which is an issue, since despite the whole Mecha thing being the games big selling point, you end up not piloting one very often. The critical hit system seems arbitrary, random, even, and with a little more polish could have been great. As it is, it's merely a minor annoyance.
Humour is another issue. Sanjuro gives little quips in the cutscenes, but it rarely feels natural. Most of the time they come off as forced, and generally don't fit the tone of the scene at all. Tragic, as if given the proper tone and pacing, they could have been hilarious. However, the credits amused me, feeling like something straight out of an anime.
The graphics are ok, but the ones in Blood 2, released the same year and running the same engine by the same company, are better. However, on a Vista32 system like I have, Shogo is significantly more stable. I got Client MFC Error crashes every 5-20 minutes with Blood 2, but had a single one in Shogo.
In conclusion, I must state that it's a shame that the expansions never came out, as they would have certainly polished up the troublesome aspects of the game, and made a game well worth recommending. As is, I can recommend the first part only, as the latter half is a poorly developed mess.
